UC-NRLF 


B    2    627    SS2 


HV 

5295 

W285 

1832 

MAIN 


THE  COMBINATION  AGAINST  INTEMPERANCE 


EXPLAINED   AND   JUSTIFIED. 


AN 


ADDRESS 


DELIVERED    BEFORE 


THE  CAMBRIDGE  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY, 


MARCH  27,  1832. 


By  henry    ware,  Jr., 

Professor  of  Pulpit  Eloquence  and  the  Pastoral  Care  in  Harvard  University. 


PUBLISHED     BY     REQUEST. 


CAMBRIDGE: 

HILLIARD    AND    BROWN. 

1832. 


lOANSTAO: 


cambribge: 
e.  w.  metcalf  and  company. 


ADDRESS. 


r>fr 


I  APPEAR  before  you  this  evening  in  the  name  of  the 
'Cambridge  Temperance  Society,  which  now  makes  its  first 
appeal  to  this  community.  I  feel  it  a  privilege  to  be  its  or- 
gan. There  is  no  cause  I  could  more  heartily  advocate ; 
and  there  is  no  place  in  which  I  could  so  cheerfully  do  it, 
as  in  this,  —  the  place  where  my  early  youth  worshipped, 
and  amongst  my  early  friends.  In  attempting  to  say  what 
may  be  most  suitable  to  the  occasion,  I  shall  make  it  my 
single  object  to  state  the  considerations  which  lead  us 
to  join  in  the  general  combination  against  intemperance, 
which  is  forming  throughout  the  land,  —  I  may  say,  through- 
out the  world  ;  considerations  which  seem  to  make  it 
the  duty  of  every  good  citizen,  as  well  as  every  sincere 
Christian,  to  lend  his  name  and  his  influence  to  the  cause. 
To  this  end  I  shall  endeavour  to  explain  the  necessity  of 
such  a  combination,  to  show  its  nature  and  character,  and 
to  point  out  the  results  at  which  it  aims. 

I.  That  this  combination  is  necessary  will  appear  from  a 
slight  glance  at  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  evil,  the  insuf- 
ficiency of  all  previous  measures  for  its  removal,  and  the 
success  which  has  thus  far  attended  the  present   operation. 

Of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  evil  in  question  it  cannot 
be  needful  to  speak  at  large.  They  have  been  so  fully  and 
frequently  exposed,  that  no  one  can  be  ignorant  of  them. 
It  will  be  enough  to  refresh  your  minds  by  a  rapid  recapitu- 
lation. 

Recollect  then  what  it  is  to  be  the  subject  of  strong 
drink.     Contemplate  the  picture  of  some  miserable   man 


421 


who  lives  in  bondage  to  his  bottle ;  and  observe  what  a 
loathsome  object  he  is; — squalid,  bloated,  diseased,  —  of- 
fensive in  his  whole  appearance,  —  incapable  of  communi- 
cating happiness,  —  the  derision  of  boys,  —  the  terror  and 
shame  of  his  weeping,  impoverished  wife,  —  the  scorn  and 
ruin  of  his  unhappy  children,  —  the  nuisance  of  his  neigh- 
bourhood. In  a  word,  bring  vividly  before  you  the  image 
of  some  one  of  these  degraded  creatures,  of  whom,  alas,  you 
have  all  known  but  too  many. 

Then  recollect  that  to  this  beast-like  condition  have  been 
reduced  multitudes  of  every  class  and  rank  in  society  ;  — 
not  only  the  children  of  the  dissolute  and  depraved,  enticed 
by  early  example  ;  —  not  only  the  sons  of  ignorance  and  in- 
famy, brought  up  by  vagabond  parents  to  be  like  them- 
selves ;  —  but  sons  and  daughters  of  the  virtuous  and  pure, 
who  began  life  in  loveliness  and  hope,  whose  early  promise 
was  the  pride  and  joy  of  parental  affection,  have  been  se- 
duced, they  know  not  how,  till  their  loveliness  and  honor 
have  faded,  and  their  parents'  hearts  have  been  broken,  and 
they  have  died  like  the  beasts  that  perish. 

Consider  that  these  victims,  thus  corrupted  and  destroyed, 
of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  and  every  profession,  —  for  even 
the  senate,  the  bench,  and  the  pulpit,  have  not  escaped ; 
mothers  and  daughters  have  been  snared ;  the  youngest 
children  and  the  hoariest  old  men  have  been  drawn  into  the 
fearful  company ;  the  rich  and  the  poor,  who  met  no  where 
else,  have  met  here ;  and  the  learned  and  the  illiterate,  the 
refined  and  the  vulgar,  who  had  no  other  common  ground, 
have  found  one  here ;  —  consider,  I  say,  that  all  these 
have  been  beguiled  into  it  involuntarily,  unintentionally, 
through  the  insidious,  false  pretence,  that  to  drink  a  little 
was  either  indispensable  for  health,  labor,  or  good  fellow- 
ship, or  at  any  rate  was  innocent  and  safe. 

Recollect  that  the  number  of  those,  who  die  annually  in 
the  United  States  in  this  dreadful  ruin  of  body  and  soul,  has 
been  estimated,  on  the  most  reasonable  calculations,  to  be 
at  least  thirty  thousand,  or,  according  to  others,  five  hun- 
dred^a  week,  and  two  murders ;  that  four  fifths  of  all  the 


paupers,  that  two  thirds  of  all  the  imprisoned  debtors,  that 
more  than  half  of  all  the  lunatics  and  maniacs,  that  three 
fourths  of  all  the  criminals,  are  the  direct,  well  ascertained 
consequence  of  intemperance:  —  that  therefore  we  may 
say  of  the  greater  part  of  our  prisons,  almshouses,  and 
lunatic  asylums,  they  are  necessary  only  because  of  the 
prevalent  intemperance  ;  they  serve  to  balance  the  distil- 
leries and  dram-shops  ;  and  the  whole  burden  of  their 
expense  on  public  and  private  charity,  is  a  tax  on  the  sober 
and  industrious  for  the  accommodation  of  the  idle  and 
profligate. 

Recollect  what  is  the  amount  of  the  entire  loss  to  the 
country  from  this  cause,  as  calculated  from  authentic  data  by 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  United  States'  Court ;  an  annual 
loss  to  the  country,  as  he  states  it,  of  the  enormous  sum  of 
ninety-four  millions  of  dollars ;  "  more  than  sufficient  to 
buy  up  all  the  houses,  lands,  and  slaves  in  the  United  States 
once  in  every  twenty  years." 

Recollect  that  there  is  scarcely  a  village,  in  which  the 
cost  of  the  ardent  spirits  annually  used,  has  not  been  more 
than  enough  to  pay  all  the  taxes,  which  go  to  support  the 
ministry  and  schools  and  highways. 

Recollect  that  this  state  of  things  has  been  perpetuated 
by  the  existence  of  a  class  of  men,  who  thrive  and  grow 
rich  on  this  general  ruin ;  a  class  so  numerous  as  to  furnish 
a  grog-shop  for  every  twenty-one  inhabitants,  and  distille- 
ries, which,  in  1815,  amounted  to  forty  thousand. 

Things  being  in  this  condition,  was  it  not  necessary  that 
something  should  be  done?  Was  it  possible  that  those, 
who  discerned  the  appalling  extent  of  the  evil,  could  be  sat- 
isfied to  sit  still  and  see  the  devastation  move  on,  without 
devising  some  means  to  stay  its  horrible  progress  ?  When 
they  witnessed  the  debasement  and  woe  of  some  miserable 
wretch  in  their  own  vicinity,  and  reflected  that  there  was 
an  army  of  such  beings  in  the  land,  as  numerous  as  that 
which  Napoleon  led  to  Russia;  when  they  thought  of  the 
crowds  of  weeping,  heart-broken  friends  who  attended 
them  ]  when  they  beheld  the  haggard  company  of  the  ma- 


6 

niacs,  the  paupers,  the  idiots,  and  the  criminals  ;  and  con- 
sidered that  the  property  squandered  to  create  all  this  mise- 
ry, exceeded  in  amount  all  that  was  paid  for  all  public  pur- 
poses ;  could  they  do  less  than  say,  Something  must  he  done  ? 
What  should  it  be  1  The  minds  of  observing  and  Chris- 
tian men  were  long  ago  agitated  on  this  question.  In- 
quiries were  instituted,  addresses  were  delivered,  the  press 
was  made  eloquent,  the  law  was  made  to  operate.  Gradu- 
ally an  impression  was  made.  There  were  those  who  un- 
derstood the  needlessness  and  mischief  of  all  use  of  intox- 
icating liquors  ;  and  many  years  since,  families  lived,  and 
farms  were  carried  on,  and  ships  were  navigated  without 
them.  But  the  public  sentiment  still  pleaded  for  a  little  in- 
dulgence, and  for  a  long  time  the  friends  of  temperance 
thought  it  allowable.  And  even  after  the  truth  became 
established,  that  there  was  no  hope  but  in  total  abstinence, 
the  reform  moved  slowly  for  want  of  concert.  At  length 
A  COMBINATION  was  perccivcd  to  be  the  thing,  and  the  only 
thing  necessary.  Every  step  had  been  taken  but  this.  Eve- 
ry step  seemed  to  prepare  for  this.  This  was  called  for  ; 
it  came  into  action ;  it  gathered  numbers  ;  it  extended  it- 
self wide. 

And  what  has  been  the  result  1  A  perceptible  and  almost 
universal  change  in  the  customs  of  society  meets  us  every 
where;  —  in  our  own  houses,  in  the  social  habits  of  our 
neighbourhood,  in  the  common  opinion  respecting  what  is 
hospitable  and  kind.  Rum  and  brandy  are  no  longer  a  com- 
mon refreshment  for  friends,  nor  indispensable  to  a  training, 
a  committee  meeting,  or  a  law-suit.  The  traveller  through 
the  country  remarks  the  change  every  where ;  and  the  phi- 
lanthropist and  patriot  speak  of  it  in  almost  unmeasured 
terms  of  gratulation  and  joy. 

It  is  nearly  a  year  since  it  was  ascertained,  that  through 
these  united  bands,  more  than  a  million  persons  had  given 
up  the  use  of  ardent  spirits;  more  than  three  thousand 
dealers  had  abandoned  the  traffic  ;  more  than  three  thou- 
sand drunkards  had  been  known  to  be  reformed  ;  and  more 


than  a  thousand  distilleries  had  been  stopped.*  These 
numbers  have  been  increased  since. 

From  these  few  facts,  of  whose  truth  we  may  judge 
something  from  what  we  ourselves  have  witnessed,  it  may 
be  perceived  what  efficiency  there  is  in  the  present  move- 
ment, what  assurance  that  we  are  in  the  right  course,  and 
what  encouragement  to  persevere. 

All  this  goes  to  prove  incontestably  my  first  position,  that 
this  combination  is  necessary.  Every  thing  else  had  been 
tried.  For  twenty  years,  men  of  every  class,  —  statesmen, 
lawyers,  laborers,  physicians,  and  divines,  —  had  been  act- 
ing on  the  subject,  and  individuals  in  every  part  of  the  land 
had  experimentally  settled  every  important  principle  which 
is  now  acted  upon.  But  for  want  of  concentration  their  ef- 
forts and  example  were  of  limited  effect.  It  was  needful  to 
unite  them.  This  has  been  partially  done,  and  the  conse- 
quences prove  it  to  be  a  wise  measure.  Let  it  be  done  com- 
pletely ;  let  the  sober  friends  of  man  join  together  in  one 
band,  and  act  with  one  mind,  and  nothing  can  stand 
against  them. 

II.  But  before  they  will  do  this,  it  is  necessary  that  they 
understand  the  nature  of  this  combination.  Are  the  terms 
of  it  such  as  they  can  reasonably  assent  to  ? 

It  is  not  to  be  concealed,  that  many  excellent  persons  ob- 
ject, in  the  outset,  against  the  very  principle  of  association, 
as  being  of  questionable  propriety  and  expediency,  to  say 
the  least,  and  attended  with  hazards  so  momentous  as  to 
make  it  their  duty  to  withhold  their  countenance  from  them. 
I  do  not  mean  to  argue  with  such  persons.  I  address  only 
those  who  think  differently  ;  who  think  that  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  cases  of  moral  duty,  some  perils  must  be  hazard- 
ed for  the  sake  of  a  great  and  unquestionable  good.  In  the 
present  instance,  the  benefits  are  too  vast,  the  efficacy  too 
certain,  the  operation  too  imperiously  demanded,  to  allow  a 
moment's  hesitation.     All  the  attendant  evil  becomes   theo- 

*  These  statements,  from  the  Report  of  the  American  Temperance  So- 
ciety, are  made  in  round  nurnbers,  and  are  probably  to  be  taken  as  only 
an  approximation  to  the  truth. 


8 

retical  and  trivial  by  the  side  of  the  palpable  and  inestimable 
good. 

What  then  are  the  terms  of  the  present  combination  ? 

The  principle,  on  which  this  present  action  is  grounded, 
is  that  of  total  abstinence  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  to 
which  it  requires  that  the  members  of  the  association  bind 
themselves  by  express  agreement.  Here  then  are  two 
things  ;  the  principle  and  the  pledge.  Is  there  reasonable 
objection  to  either  1 

To  the  principle  certainly  there  can  be  none.  No  one, 
who  knows  any  thing  of  the  nature  of  the  evil  in  question, 
will  dream  of  finding  a  remedy  in  any  thing  short  of  the  ab- 
solute prohibition  of  the  intoxicating  article.  All  experience 
proves,  that  no  man  can  be  accounted  safe  who  allows  him- 
self to  drink  moderately.  Dr.  Johnson  once  said,  *'  I  know 
what  intemperance  is,  and  I  know  what  is  abstinence ;  but 
I  never  yet  could  learn  what  is  moderation."  Thousands 
may  say  the  same.  They  can  abstain  ;  but  they  cannot 
drink  moderately.  In  abstinence  there  is  no  difficulty, 
comparatively  no  self-denial,  and  there  is  safety.  But  to 
drink  a  little,  and  stop  as  soon  as  the  appetite  is  provoked ; 
to  deny  an  increasing  gratification  to  a  growing  thirst; 
this  is,  for  many  men,  too  hard  ;  and  to  all  it  is  fearfully 
dangerous.  There  is  no  safety  but  in  resolute  abstinence. 
What  objection  then  can  there  be  to  the  principle  ?  Es- 
pecially since  it  is  one  of  the  demonstrated  truths,  that  not 
a  drop  is  needed  by  any  man  in  any  circumstances,  and 
that  in  most  cases  it  is  actually  deleterious.  How  indeed 
should  it  be  necessary,  when  the  world  went  on  till  within 
three  hundred  years  without  the  invention  of  ardent  spirit  1 
and  its  use  has  been  common  in  New  England  less  than 
ninety  years. 

But  it  is  not  only  this  personal  consideration  which  justi- 
fies the  principle.  Every  man  must  recollect  his  relation  to 
others.  However  impossible  that  he  should  fall,  he  must 
consider,  that  it  may  be  essential  to  the  very  salvation  of 
some  weaker  neighbour  that  he  altogether  abstain.  But  he 
sees  you  take  a  little.     Why  should  not  he  ?     It  is  as  inno- 


9 

cent  in  him  as  in  you ;  and  he  is  ashamed  to  betray  a  great- 
er distrust  of  his  own  virtue  than  you  of  yours.  If  you  risk 
it,  he  will  ;  if  you  brave  the  devil,  he  will  not  be  so  coward- 
ly as  to  retreat.  Shall  he  alone  turn  poltroon,  and  run  away 
from  a  seasonable  glass  ?  Not  he  ;  and  so,  for  fear  of  being 
thought  to  think  himself  in  danger,  he  drinks  on  and  dies. 
Now,  what  right  had  you  to  countenance  and  abet  the  ruin 
of  that  man  ?  What  right  had  you,  by  a  foolish  and  un- 
necessary gratification,  to  tempt  him  to  sin  and  destruction? 
Remember  the  magnanimous  declaration  of  Paul  :  "  If 
meat  cause  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  meat  while 
the  world  standeth,  lest  I  cause  my  brother  to  offend." 
This  should  be  the  maxim  of  every  man ;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  that  if  the  strong  would  all  act  on  this  principle, 
they  would  confirm  the  moral  courage  and  strengthen  the 
moral  efforts  of  thousands,  who  would  otherwise  be  lost. 
For  how  many  thousands  are  there,  who  have  no  strength 
to  run  counter  to  example  ! 

Indeed  it  will  not  do  to  give  up  this  principle  of  entire  ab- 
stinence. It  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  cause.  On  it  rests 
all  the  success  in  which  we  rejoice.  Abandon  it,  —  allow 
men  to  drink  moderately,  and  to  judge  for  themselves,  as 
you  must,  what  is  moderate  drinking,  and  you  restore  the 
dominion  of  the  demon  at  once. 

But  the  pledge,  —  is  that  necessary?    is  that  expedient  ? 

On  this  point,  I  am  aware,  there  is  greater  difference  of 
opinion.  Many  of  the  true  friends  to  the  cause,  advocates 
of  the  great  principle,  hesitate  about  the  pledge.  I  know 
their  objections,  conscientiously  and  religiously  entertained. 
They  are  to  be  treated  with  all  respect.  But  after  the  most 
careful  consideration  I  have  been  able  to  give  the  subject, 
I  am  constrained  to  say,  that  I  think  them  founded  in  error, 
and  such  as  offer  no  sufficient  reason  for  refusing  to  join 
the  combination. 

The  error  seems  to  me  twofold  :  first,  in  supposing  that 
the  pledge  is  always  designed  for  his  sake  who  takes  it, 
whereas  it  is  often  intended  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  others  ; 
and,  secondly,  in  fancying  that  it  contains  a  snare  to  his 
conscience  by  inducing  him  to  act  from  unworthy  motives. 
3 


10 

First,  these  persons  say,  We  do  not  use  these  injurious 
articles.  Why  is  not  this  enough  ?  Why  pledge  ourselves 
to  that  restraint  which  we  already  practise  ? 

I  answer,  For  the  sake  of  others,  for  the  sake  of  extend- 
ing the  knowledge  and  influence  of  your  example.  There 
is  a  large  class  of  men  almost  persuaded,  who  think  on  the 
whole  it  would  be  better  to  abandon  the  cup  altogether, 
who  yet  continue  to  drink  habitually,  though  soberly,  and 
who  thus  encourage  the  intemperate,  because  they  are  not 
called  to  make  an  immediate  decision.  Your  private  ex- 
ample does  not  urge  them  to  it  any  more  to-day  than  next 
year  ;  and  they  think  that  next  year  will  be  more  convenient. 
But  when  you  sign  a  paper,  and  pass  it  to  them,  they  are 
brought  to  a  decision  on  the  spot.  And  it  is  precisely  in 
this  way,  that  thousands,  without  a  moment's  hesitation, 
have  been  made  practical  advocates  of  the  cause.  They 
were  advocates  at  heart  before ;  yet  they  might  never  have 
become  such  openly,  so  as  to  exert  a  wholesome  influence, 
except  they  had  thus  been  called  on  for  an  immediate  de- 
cision. In  this  way,  therefore,  your  written  engagement 
may  make  your  practice  known  to  many,  and  thus  tend  to 
influence  many,  who  never  would  otherwise  have  learned 
what  your  practice  is. 

But  again  they  say,  We  lay  snares  for  conscience  in  thus 
surrendering  our  liberty.  We  do  not  think  a  little  occa- 
sional indulgence  injurious  to  us,  though  we  do  not  desire 
it ;  and  why  should  we  tempt  ourselves   by  the  prohibition  ? 

It  is  not  strange  that  some  should  be  affected  by  this 
mode  of  viewing  the  matter.  They  religiously  dread  to 
tamper  with  conscience,  and  put  its  delicacy  in  jeopardy. 
But,  after  all,  are  they  not  mistaken  as  to  the  amount  of  the 
risk  ?  If  they  are  accustomed  to  act  on  principle,  is  there 
much  danger  that  appetite  or  civility  will  get  ascendency 
over  it,  because  they  have  told  their  neighbours  that  it  shall 
not?  —  for  this  is  the  amount  of  it.  Or,  suppose  it  amounted 
to  something  more;  yet  should  they  not  be  ready  to  incur  the 
risk  for  the  sake  of  the  good  which  they  may  thus  do  to  oth- 
ers ?  for  this  is  the  point  to  be  considered.      It  is  a  ques- 


11 

tion  between  a  single  regard  to  one's  own  good,  and  a  be- 
nevolent sacrifice  to  the  good  of  others.  On  the  one  side  is 
a  possible  evil  to  one's  self;  on  the  other,  an  inevitable  evil 
to  others.  Which  is  to  be  chosen  ?  To  a  conscientious 
man,  who  walks  circumspectly,  the  personal  danger  is  noth- 
ing ;  and  he  certainly  cannot  feel  justified  in  refusing  to  do 
what  might  prove  an  essential  office  of  benevolence,  on  the 
selfish  plea  that  possibly  he  might  thereby  injure  his  own 
mind.  The  duty  then  seems  obvious.  It  is  determined  by 
the  maxim  of  holy  writ,  "  Let  no  man  seek  his  own,  but 
every  man  another's  good  ;  "  and  by  that  already  cited  ; 
"  I  will  eat  no  meat  while  the  world  standeth,  lest  I  cause 
my  brother  to  offend." 

I  would  ask  also,  why  this  objection  should  be  thought  so 
peculiarly  strong  in  this  case,  when  it  is  equally  applicable 
to  many  other  occasions,  on  which  it  is  never  brought  for- 
ward ?  "  We  are  principled  against  making  promises  to 
do  our  duty ;  we  choose  to  do  it  because  it  is  our  duty  ; 
otherwise  we  set  snares  for  our  consciences."  But  you  do 
not  act  on  this  principle  in  other  cases.  It  is  your  duty  to 
speak  the  truth  in  a  court  of  justice  ;  yet  you  make  a  sol- 
emn engagement  to  do  so.  It  is  your  duty  to  pay  your 
debts  ;  yet  you  do  not  hesitate  to  give  a  note  of  hand, 
promising  payment.  It  is  your  duty  to  be  faithful  to  your 
wife  ;  yet  you  did  not  refuse,  when  you  took  her  for  better 
for  worse,  to  engage  to  be  so.  And  did  you  ever  find  your- 
self less  likely  to  speak  the  truth,  pay  your  debts,  and  honor 
your  wife,  because  of  these  promises?  Have  you  found 
them  snares  to  your  conscience  ?  Certainly  then  there  is  no 
force  in  the  objection.  It  cannot  stand  before  a  candid  ex- 
amination. 

It  is  to  be  said  further,  in  defence  of  this  requisition,  that 
experience  has  proved  it  essential  to  the  prevalence  of  the 
cause  ;  we  can  expect  its  complete  triumph  only  through 
the  power,  which  is  by  this  means  imparted  to  its  operations. 
It  is  undoubtedly  a  fact,  that  the  vigorous  and  rapid  spread 
of  just  sentiments  on  this  subject  has  been  mainly  owing  to 
their  having  been  pressed  upon  the  notice  of  society  by  the 


steady  and  persevering  pledge  of  temperate  men.  It  is 
through  this  means,  that  such  multitudes  have  been  led,  not 
only  to  reflect,  but  to  act,  to  act  promptly,  decidedly,  fear- 
lessly, unitedly  ;  and  if  the  former  course  of  simply  reason- 
ing on  the  subject,  and  acting  silently  as  insulated  individu- 
als, had  been  continued,  nothing  approaching  the  same 
results  could  have  been  witnessed,  nor  could  we  now  look 
forward  with  so  confident  assurance  to  complete  success. 
Whatever  objection,  therefore,  may  seem  to  lie  against  this 
part  of  the  system,  a  little  examination  shows  it  to  be  un- 
founded ;  while  to  admit  it  in  practice  would  be  ruinous  to 
the  enterprise.  No  ;  so  long  as  we  require  our  magistrates 
to  bind  themselves  to  fidelity  in  office,  we  must  not  think 
it  unreasonable  to  bind  ourselves  to  this  duty.  If  every 
sober  man  would  doit,  not  all  the  obligation,  assumed, and 
discharged  by  the  officers  of  state,  would  effect  so  much  for 
the  virtue  and  prosperity  of  the  nation.  We  should  then 
speedily  witness  the  results  at  which  we  aim. 

III.  JVJiat  are  these  results  ?  This  was  the  third  point 
I  proposed  to  consider. 

The  result  to  which  these  operations  tend  is  the  extermi- 
nation, —  the  absolute,  perpetual  extermination,  —  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  as  an  article  of  drink.  The  cause  is  not  gain- 
ed until  rum  and  brandy  are  as  little  used  as  opium,  and 
sold  in  the  same  way,  for  the  same  purposes,  and  in  the 
same  places.  There  is  no  stopping  short  of  this.  Our  prin- 
ciples look  forward  to  this  result.  The  work  is  incomplete, 
society  is  insecure,  until  it  is  reached. 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  principles  of  this  combi- 
nation go  to  discourage  the  manufacture  of  spirits,  and  abol- 
ish the  traffic  in  them.  He  who  holds  them  cannot  consist- 
ently supply  to  his  fellow-men  the  temptations  and  facilities 
to  that  indulgence,  which  he  professes  to  esteem  the  source 
of  immeasurable  calamities  to  them.  He  cannot  consistently 
labor  to  rid  the  land  of  intemperance,  and  yet  make  it  for 
his  own  interest  that  men  should  buy  at  his  distillery,  or 
drink  at  his  shop. 


13 

I  am  aware  of  the  delicacy  of  this  part  of  the  subject. 
I  know  the  risk  I  run  of  hurting  the  feelings  of  men  engaged 
in  a  business,  which  was,  when  they  entered  it,  and  always 
hitherto  has  been,  considered  as  reputable  as  any  other  ;  and 
who  have  not  yet  had  the  subject  so  presented  to  them,  that 
they  perceive  themselves  to  be  occupied  in  spreading  misery 
and  desolation  around  them.  All  their  habits  of  education 
and  of  life,  their  business,  their  interest,  and  their  connex- 
ions, concur  to  blind  them,  and  they  are  not  likely  to  dis- 
cern, so  readily  as  others,  the  inherent  vice  of  their  voca- 
tion. Even  John  Newton,  for  some  time  after  his  character 
became  Christian,  failed  to  see,  that  his  employment  in  the 
slave-trade  was  in  contradiction  to  his  religious  principles  ; 
and  it  sounds  harshly  to  the  ears  of  our  neighbours,  when 
it  is  said  to  them,  for  the  first  time,  that  the  trade  in  rum  is 
no  better  than  the  trade  in  men.  Yet  if  we  judge  impar- 
tially, by  the  wretchedness  and  sin  resulting  from  each,  can 
we  doubt  that  it  is  so  ? 

I  desire,  therefore,  to  speak  inoffensively,  but  I  must 
speak  decidedly.  No  proposition  seems  to  me  susceptible 
of  more  satisfactory  demonstration  than  this,  —  and  I  am 
sure  that  no  person  can  give  it  one  hour's  serious  thought 
without  assenting  to  it,  —  that,  in  the  present  state  of  in- 
formation on  this  subject,  no  man  can  think  to  act  on  Chris- 
tian principle,  or  do  a  patriot's  duty  to  his  country,  and  at 
the  same  time  make  or  sell  the   instrument  of  intoxication. 

For  let  him  consider  what  it  amounts  to.  To  no  less 
than  this :  employing  his  time,  capital,  and  industry,  to 
prepare  for  use,  and  offer  for  use,  that  thing,  which  has 
been  proved  to  be  the  principal  source  of  misery  and  crime 
in  modern  society  ;  —  providing  for  men  the  convenient  and 
tempting  means  of  ruining  their  health  and  their  business, 
beggaring  their  families,  becoming  vagabonds  and  a  nui- 
sance while  alive,  sinking  prematurely  to  a  dishonorable 
grave,  and  entering  eternity,  —  oh,  with  what  a  prepara- 
tion! Let  him  consider  this,  —  and  he  will  perceive,  that, 
however  little  he  may  have  intended  it,  however  little  he  may 
have  thought  of  it,  the  nature  of  his  calling  has  rendered  it 


14 

inevitable.  He  cannot  be  a  dealer  in  spirits  without  be- 
coming accessory  to  all  this  vice  and  ruin. 

He  does  not  wish  to  create  drunkards  ;  he  does  not  take 
pleasure  in  multiplying  poverty,  suffering,  and  sin  ;  he  is 
astonished  that  men  can  be  such  idiots  and  brutes ;  he  won- 
ders that  they  do  not  drink  with  moderation.  Alas  !  he 
does  not  reflect  that  the  inevitable  tendency  of  the  shop  and 
the  bar-room  is  to  decoy  men  from  themselves  and  their 
self-command.  He  does  not  reflect  how  hopeless  it  is, — 
as  all  experience  has  proved,  —  that  such  places  should  ex- 
ist, and  no  men  become  intemperate.  Their  existence  is 
certainly  the  occasion,  if  not  the  cause,  of  a  vast  proportion 
of  the  evil.  If  the  poison  were  not  freely  offered  for  sale,  it 
would  not  be  purchased. 

This  is  easily  tested.  How  happens  it  that  in  that  vil- 
lage there  were  so  many  neglected  farms,  and  houses  going 
to  decay  ;  that  so  many  families  lived  in  squalidness  and 
quarrelling,  and  that  a  general  want  of  enterprise  marked 
its  slovenly  aspect  ?  There  were  four  places  in  that  vil- 
lage, at  which  strong  drink  was  retailed ;  and  it  was  the 
custom  of  the  villagers  to  assemble  there  and  discuss  the 
times.  As  a  natural  consequence,  they  became  idle,  shift- 
less, slovenly,  and  quarrelsome.  Now  suppose,  that  twenty 
years  ago  the  town  had  resolved,  that  no  retailers  should 
be  allowed  there,  —  as  has  recently  been  done  in  Utica, 
N.  Y. ;  —  that,  consequently,  no  spirits  had,  since  that  time, 
been  carried  there  for  sale.  Who  can  deny,  that  the  whole 
aspect  of  things  would  be  other  than  it  is  ?  Who  does  not 
see,  that  the  very  persons  who  are  now  worthless  sots,  would 
have  grown  up  a  thriving,  industrious  population  ?  This  is 
the  result  which  we  wish  to  see  accomplished  throughout 
the  community.  It  has  already  been  witnessed  in  some 
places,  where  words  have  hardly  power  enough  to  express 
the  gratitude  and  gladness  of  the  people  at  the  happy 
change.  What  hinders  that  the  change  should  take  place 
every  where  ?  What  hinders  that  every  community  should 
be  filled  only  with  sober,  thrifty,  enterprising  men,  helping 
forward,  instead  of  keeping  back  the  general  good  ?     What 


15 

hinders  ?  Every  one  must  see  the  answer  to  be,  the  manu- 
facture and  the  sale  of  ardent  spirit.  Let  us  turn  the 
matter  as  we  will,  it  comes  to  this  at  last.  And  until  those 
who  are  most  concerned  in  the  fact  see  it  in  its  true  light, 
and<  become  willing  to  sacrifice  a  brief  present  gain  to  the 
welfare  of  the  community,  the  day  of  universal  temperance 
with  its  train  of  blessings  will  be  retarded  in  its  coming. 
They  must  first  lock  up,  —  for  they  hold  the  keys,  —  the 
fountains  of  that  desolating  flood  which  now  overflows  and 
stagnates  upon  the  corrupted  land. 

Honored  be  they  who  have  done  this !  Honor  to  the 
names  of  those,  —  the  only  persons  in  any  sense  sufferers 
in  this  cause,  —  who  have,  with  manly  principle  and  con- 
scientious self-denial,  thrown  away  their  gains,  that  their 
fellow-men  might  be  safe.  They  already  form  a  numerous 
host ;  every  day  witnesses  accessions  to  their  ranks.  They 
are  now,  and  from  this  time  forth  they  must  be,  the  most 
eflicient  promoters  of  the  auspicious  reformation ;  since 
each  of  them,  not  only,  like  the  rest  of  us,  refuses  to  touch 
the  poison  as  it  flows,  but  absolutely  annihilates  one  of  its 
streams.  To  these  men  it  belongs  to  finish  the  work  which 
others  have  so  propitiously  begun. 

I  have  thus  executed  my  purpose  of  explaining  the  ne- 
cessity, the  character,  and  the  results  of  the  great  combina- 
tion against  Intemperance,  in  which  we  have  enlisted. 

I  have  but  a  word  more  to  say.  I  simply  ask  of  you, 
friends  and  fellow-citizens,  to  give  the  subject  a  fair  con- 
sideration ;  and  if,  as  reasonable  men,  as  citizens,  as  pa- 
triots, as  Christians,  you  feel  the  evil  and  desire  its  extinc- 
tion, lend  the  power  of  your  names  to  the  enterprise ;  enlist 
in  this  crusade  against  the  general  destroyer ;  array  your- 
selves under  the  banner  of  your  country  and  your  God,  in  this 
holy  war  of  extermination  against  the  chief  public  enemy. 
The  victory  will  be  won,  —  the  most  important  and  blessed 
victory  since  the  Reformation  of  Luther,  —  only  when  every 
individual  shall  have  joined  our  ranks,  and  become  a  free, 
voluntary,  practical  advocate  of  the  duty  of  absolute  absti- 


16 

nence.  Much  has  been  done  already  ;  enough  to  give  en- 
couragement to  the  most  sanguine  hopes  ;  but  comparative- 
ly nothing,  if  the  effort  is  to  be  relaxed.  Every  thing  de- 
pends on  perseverance.  Come  up,  therefore,  one  and  all, 
"  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty."  Come 
up,  and  aid  in  the  purification  and  salvation  of  your  country. 
The  newly  Christianized  islands  of  the  Pacific  oc6an  have 
abolished  the  trade,  and  banished  the  venom  from  their 
shores.  Let  not  our  older  land  of  boasted  religious  light, 
lag  far  behind.  Let  it  rise  in  the  power  of  its  enlightened 
faith,  in  the  fervor  of  its  Christian  love,  and  sweep  this 
foul  contamination  from  its  borders.  Formerly  it  was 
thought  we  must  rely  on  the  law  to  effect  the  Augean 
work.  But  it  has  been  found,  that  there  is  something 
stronger  and  more  to  be  depended  on  than  human  law,  -— 
the  spread  of  just  sentiment  and  upright  principle.  No 
law  has  a  commanding  power  like  that  "  written  on  the 
heart."  Where  this  is  brought  into  operation,  aided  by 
the  authority  and  sanctions  of  the  written  word  of  God, 
it  creates  a  certainty,  energy,  and  perseverance  of  action,  to 
which  all  other  operation  is  feeble.  Here  then  is  our  confi- 
dence. The  reformation  which  proceeds  on  principle,  is  a 
reformation  root  and  branch ;  a  willing,  cheerful,  thorough, 
universal  reformation  ;  and  it  never  goes  backward.  Let 
us  therefore  earnestly  pray,  and  strenuously  labor,  for  the 
spread  of  that  moral  and  religious  principle,  which  shall 
certainly  effect,  and  alone  is  able  to  effect,  this  moral  and 
religious  Reform. 


LOAN  DEPT. 

or  on  .he  da.e  .o  «h|  ,,2^,405        ^„  ,^.,  , 


(N88378l0)476— A-32 


General  Libran' 
Unne«ityofCaliforma 

Berkeley 


